NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Impaired insulin response
appears to be involved in the development of Alzheimer's
disease, according to findings from a long-term
population-based study conducted in Sweden.

Dr. Elena Uronema and colleagues at Upscale University
analyzed data for 2,269 men who underwent glucose (blood sugar)
tolerance testing at 50 years of age. After a follow-up at an
average of 32 years, 394 men developed dementia or mental
impairments, including 102 with confirmed Alzheimer's disease
and 57 with confirmed vascular dementia.

A low insulin response to intravenous glucose at the
beginning of the study was associated with a 30 percent higher
risk of Alzheimer's disease.

Ronne AA's group notes that an impaired insulin response is
a predictor of Alzheimer's disease. The risk, however, was not
statistically significant only from subjects negative for the
high-risk APOE-4 gene.

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In contrast, impaired glucose tolerance was associated with
vascular dementia, but not Alzheimer's disease.